Vacuum cleaner filter bag



March 1956 E. ANDERSON 2,737,263

VACUUM CLEANER FILTER BAG Filed Feb. 9, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l Tiql.

I 22 v INVENTOR fiv/z r4/VOE/PSO/V Z JM/MZZ #4 ATTORNEY March 6, 1956Filed Feb. 9, 1953 E. ANDERSON VACUUM CLEANER FILTER BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet2 25 32 22 39 2 WWW LET 24/ Tlc s. 34

INVENTOR' A a-ATTORNEY United States PatentO VACUUM CLEANER FILTER BAGEmil Anderson, Briarcliif Manor, N. Y., assignor to EiectroluxCorporation, Old Greenwich, Conn a corporation of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 9, 1953, Serial No. 335,775

1 Claim. (Cl. 183-51) My invention relates to disposable filter bags forvacuum cleaners of the type disclosed in my Patent No. 2,621,757 issuedDecember 16, 1952. In that patent there is shown a container whichincludes a bag portion having a plurality of side walls, each wallhaving an extension at one end folded at right angles to the wall andoverlapping similar extensions from the other walls to form a flat endportion of the bag. A disc of relatively stifii material, such ascardboard, is secured to this flat end portion, as by gluing, and thedisc and end portion are formed with aligned apertures constituting aninlet to the bag. The aperture in the otherwise closed fiat end portionof the bag is formed at an intermediate point in the manufacture of thebag by folding the fiat end portion along a center line thereof andcutting out a semicircular piece, with the result that when the endportion is unfolded there is a circular hole therethrough.

However, this folding, cutting and unfolding the end portion involvesadditional steps in the manufacture of the bag, and also the cutoutpiece must be removed and disposed of.

In accordance with my present invention I make the extensions at theends of the side walls of the bag of such length that they do not form acompletely closed end portion, but on the contrary form an end portionwhich as initially made has an opening therethrough.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partially in cross section, showing a containerin accordance with my invention in place in a vacuum cleaner;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the container shown in Fig. 1, but in partiallycollapsed condition;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same container in fully collapsedcondition;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the container shown in the previous figures, butwith certain inlet seding means omitted for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4, but shows the bag portion before thecardboard disc has been applied thereto;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the bag in expanded condition, showing sealmeans for the inlet opening thereof;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 7, but with the bagportion in expanded condition; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, referencecharacter 10 designates a disposable container in accordance with myinvention in place within a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner includesa housing 12 within which the container is disposed. A motor fan unit 14is mounted in one end of the housing, while the other end may be closedby a removable cover member 16. The cover member is provided with an2,737,263 Patented Mar. 6, 1956 inlet conduit 18 which, when the coveris in place, ex'

tends some distance into the housing 12. The outer end hose may beconnected by the inlet conduit. Operation of the fan serves to draw airand entrained dust inwardly through the inlet conduit to within thecontainer 10.-

The bag portion of this container is preferably made of flexible orpliable paper which is pervious with respect to air, but impervious withrespect to dust. Consequently, the air passes through the walls of thebag portion, while the dust is retained therein.

The container 10, as above stated, comprises a bag portion having afirst pair of side walls 22 and 24 and a second pair of side walls 26and 28, all four of these walls being best shown in Fig. 9. The sidewalls 26 and 28 are formed with longitudinally extending center creases30 and 32, whereby these walls may be folded fiat between the Walls 22and 24 when the container is in collapsed condition. This bag portion ismade from an initially fiat sheet of paper, the longitudinal edges ofwhich are secured together by a seam 34 in the side wall 24.

When the bag is in expanded condition, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 8, theside walls of each pair are disposed parallel to each other, while theside walls of the different pairs are disposed substantially at rightangles to each other.

The left-hand ends of the side walls, as viewed, for example in Fig. 5,are formed with extensions which, when the bag portion is in extendedcondition, extend inwardly and substantially at right angles withrespect to the side walls. Thus, the side walls 22 and 24 are formedwith extensions 36 and 33, respectively, while the side walls 26 and 23are formed with extensions 46 and 42, respectively. As will be seenparticularly in Fig. 5, the length of each extension is less than onehalf the distance from the respective side wall to the other side wallof the same pair, thus forming a rectangular opening 44 in the fiat endportion of the bag.

Secured to the fiat end portion, as by means of a suit able adhesive 46,is a fiat comparatively stiff disc 48 of cardboard or the like having apreferably circular aperture 50. It will be noted that the diameter ofthis aperture 5% is less than the space between the inner ends or edgesof the extensions 40 and 42, but is greater than the space between theinner edges of extensions 36 and 58. Consequently, portions of theextensions 36 and 33 extend within the boundary of the aperture 56) and,in order that they will not interfere with the introduction of the inletconduit 18, these extensions are formed with slits 52 and 54,respectively, which permit the extensions to be bent or folded out ofthe way by the inlet conduit as shown in Fig. 8, the bending takingplace along lines, such as the broken line 55 in Fig. 5.

In order to provide a self-closing seal for the inlet to the container,a sheet of stretchable and elastic material 56 is secured, as by gluing,to the outer surface of the disc 48. This sheet is formed with a hole 58of preferably oblong configuration which is normally much smaller thanthe aperture 50 in the disc. Thereis also provided a strip 60 of lightcardboard or the like lies along the side of the conduit and at the sametime the sheet material is stretched so as to enlarge the hole- 58sufficiently to accommodate the inlet conduit, as is shown in Fig. 1.

Thereafter, when the front cover is.

enemas removed andthe inlet conduit withdrawn, the hole 58 returnsto itsoriginal smallsize'andstraightens outthc strip 60 which continues toextend through the hole so as to provide a substantial seal therefor, asis clearly shown 1 in .Fig. -"6.

-'It will be noted that-the strip 60 is disposed parallel totheinner-ends oredges of the extensions 36 and 3S and that the distancebetween these extensions is great r than the width of the strip. This isdesirable, as otherwise the eXtensions-migh interfere with the stripbeing straightened out and properly sealing the hole 51% when the inletconduit is withdrawn.

It will be also noted that the adhcsive i is'so-placed on the extensions36 and '38 that it does not extend inwardly beyond the outer boundary ofthe aperture 50 in the disc, as otherwise it might adhere to the'clasticsheet 56 and interferewith the proper stretching of this material uponinsertion of the inlet conduit.

The end'of the bag portion, opposite from the disc 48, is'closed byhaving the side walls folded over on themselves several times and glued,as shown at 64.

While I have shown one more or less specific embodiment of my inventionit is to be understood that this has been done for purposes ofillustration only and is not tobe construed as limiting the scope of myinvention, which is to be determined from the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A disposable dust container for a suction cleaner,

said container including a bag composed of pliable poroussheet materialof porosity to permit the passageot air but to preclude the passage ofdust particles therethrough, said bag having a plurality of pairs ofside walls, the walls of each pair being substantially parallel to eachother and disposed at an angle to the walls of any other pair, saidsheet material forming an extension at one end of each side wall andbeing folded inwardly substantially at right angles to the respectivewall, said extensions being disposed in overlapping relationship to forma flat end portion, reach of said extensions having a length less thanone half the distance between the respective side wall and the otherside wall of the same pair whereby an opening is provided through saidend portion, and a flat end member of relatively stir'f material securedto said end portion and having an aperture communicating with saidopening and with the interior of said bag.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 808,170Rogers t. Dec. 26, 1905 921,664 Bates May 18, 1909 2,528,332 BergquistOct. 31, 1950 2,574,683 Anderson ;Nov. 13, 1951 2,596,807 Dippel May.13, 1952 2,596,808 Lofgren May 13, 1952

